The film centers around a group of friends who are hunted by a mentally deranged serial killer while climbing a dangerous trail up in the mountains.

They find the starting point closed off with rocks but experienced climber Fred convinces the others, including Chloé's boyfriend Loïc, to cross the track.

As their journey progresses, they realize that the trail is more dangerous than they had first thought: an unstable rope bridge collapses after their crossing, nearly killing Karine.

Karine uses a rope to bring help the rest of the group to the top, but when they return, Fred is missing, but Loïc finds blood on the surrounding foliage, and the empty, bloodstained bear trap is found discarded.

As they continue on they find a cabin in the forest and enter; inside, a naked and bloodied Fred is lying on a slab, and though Chloé tries to save him, he dies shortly after from shock and his wounds; Loïc covers his body with a sheet.

Guillaume initially tries to pull him up, but is overcome by hatred and anger from Loïc trapping him in Anton's house, and lets him fall to his death off the cliffside.

"[3] Bloody Disgusting lambasted High Lane, finding that while its climbing scenes and gruesome set pieces were enjoyable, the film as a whole was "annoying" due to its bad acting, obnoxious score, uncharismatic villain, and "hackneyed script.

"[4] Patrick Cooper of CHUD.com opined that High Lane was "a well-acted, well-directed, well-shot film, but sadly one that brings nothing new to the table"[5] while Coming Soon's Robert Sims called it "predictable but effective" and "the European answer to The Hills Have Eyes.

"[6] While Dread Central's Scott A. Johnson expressed distaste for High Lane's nonsensical flashbacks, unlikable characters, and nebulous plot developments, he still gave the film a score of 4/5, calling it "a remarkably intense ride that keeps the audience cringing on the edge of their seats" before concluding, "The bottom line is simply this: High Lane is tense.

"[7] DVD Talk's Kurt Dahlke gave the film a 2½ out of a possible 5, and wrote, "Despite awesome early action and slow-building tension, High Lane ends up muddled and clichéd.

Even unvarnished, Ferry's can't fail first half works marvelously, but when things ultimately devolve into chaotic cliché, only the undiscriminating, and those new to horror, will remain tuned in.

"[8] James Dennis of Screen Anarchy labelled the film "a familiar slasher/redneck horror" and went on to say, "For half its running time High Lane manages to be a tense, if not original, rock-climbing thriller – a French Cliffhanger for teens.

"[9] Fellow Screen Anarchy reviewer Todd Brown was more lenient towards the film, writing, "The great strength of Ferry's Vertige isn't necessarily that it surprises but that, with the exception of one unnecessary plotline, Ferry serves up a collection of realistic characters in a stunning natural environment with lean, brisk efficiency.

His model is clearly a mash-up of films like Wrong Turn, Wolf Creek, and the Norwegian thriller Cold Prey, and he succeeds at least in part.